A veteran Delta pilot who allegedly showed up drunk for a flight from Scotland to New York City has been “removed from service” — as he faced charges for his alleged reckless conduct.
Lawrence Russell Jr., 62, was charged Friday under the UK’s Railways and Transportation Safety Act of 2003, which imposes limits on alcohol consumption for crew members.
He appeared Monday in Edinburgh Sheriff’s Court, where he made no plea and was remanded in custody, “committed for further examination,” a police spokesperson told ABC News.
Russell was expected to appear in court again “within the next eight days,” but during a short video meeting Wednesday, he was granted bail by Sheriff Gordon Liddle, according to the Edinburgh News.
One condition of being sprung states that he may not fly within UK airspace until the case has been disposed of.
Russell, whose address was given as “Georgia, USA,” had also spent the weekend in custody, according to the outlet.
He was accused of being over the legal limit when he showed up at Edinburgh Airport on Friday for Flight DL209, which was canceled at the last minute with the passengers bound for JFK International Airport already onboard.
In Scotland, the legal blood-alcohol limit for airline staff is 20 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood. For drivers, it is 50 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood.
“Delta continues to investigate this matter and is cooperating with authorities. The pilot in question has been removed from service pending the outcome of the investigation,” an airline rep told The Post in an email.
In a previous statement, Delta said: “Delta confirms that one of its crew was taken into custody this morning at EDI Airport. Delta is assisting the authorities with their ongoing enquiries … we apologise to customers impacted by the cancellation.”
The airline said its “alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have no tolerance for violation.”